It’s not that often that you can get cautioned by the police for saying the Rosary outside Saudi Arabia but these are exciting times.

It’s not that often that you can get cautioned by the police for saying the Rosary outside Saudi Arabia but these are exciting times. In Ireland, limited numbers of people are allowed in church for restricted periods for private prayer. But when does private prayer become communal worship, which is forbidden under the draconian Covid restrictions? Ah, there’s the rub. And so, when a group of people in my home town came to church during the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and started saying the Rosary and even – another transgressive activity – singing hymns, there were complaints. The police were called and took the people’s names. They warned them that if there were a repeat of this sort of behaviour, they’d be fined. You know, I don’t think even in Penal times you could be fined for saying the Rosary.

I wasn’t there, of course; like everyone else I haven’t been able to travel for months. But I think I know who would have been there: they are getting on a bit in years and, in normal circumstances, the most law-abiding individuals you could meet. Getting threatened by the police is something quite new. But these aren’t normal times. For one thing, the parish priest, whom the police called before entering the church, was out of action. He had Covid.

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